Broadband
Broadband internet subscriber growth rate slowed down in December 2018
BENGALURU: Month-on-month (MOM) broadband internet subscriber growth in December 2018 (Dec-18) was the second lowest in 2018 at just 66.5 lakh (6.65 million, 0.665 crore) subscriber additions or 1.3 percent as compared to the immediate trailing month – Nov-18. The lowest growth was in the month of Aug-18 at just 34.1 lakh (3.41 million or 0.341 crore) or 0.7 percent as compared to the previous month based on Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) monthly telecom data reports.Bharti Airtel has lost wireless broadband internet subscribers in the month of Dec-18.
Broadband subscribers across wired, mobile device (phones and dongles) and fixed wireless grew 42.9 percent from 3,628.7 lakh (362.87 million or 36.287 crore) as of 31 December 2017 by 1,556.8 lakh (155.68 million or 15.568 crore) to 5,185.5 lakh (518.85 million or 51.885 crore) as of 31 December 2018. Please refer to the figures below for MOM subscriber growth trends.
Mobile devices comprising of phones and dongles is the largest constituent of India’s broadband internet subscriber base at 96.4 percent. Growth in broadband internet subscribers in calendar year 2018 (CY 2018) was led by growth in mobile devices users at 99.8 percent or 1,553.80 lakh (155.38 million or 15.538 crore) of new subscribers added in the year. Broadband internet subscribers through mobile devices grew 45.1percent from 3,445.7 lakh (344.57 million or 34.457 crore) at the end of Dec-17 to 4,999.50 lakh (499.95 million or 49.995 crore) at the end of Dec18.
Wired broadband internet subscribers grew 1.7 percent or by 3.1 lakh (0.31 million or 0.031 crore) in CY 2018 from 178.6 lakh (17.86 million or 1,786 crore) at the end of Dec17 to 181.7 lakh (18.17 million or 1.817 crore) at the end of Dec-18.
Fixed wireless- WiFi, Wi Max, Point to Point, Radio, Vsat broadband internet subscribers declined by about 10,000 (fell by about 2.7 percent) from 4.4 lakh (0.44 million or 0.044 crore) at the end of Dec-17 to 4.3 lakh (0.43 million or 0.043 crore) at the end of Dec-18.
Please refer to the figure below for details of broadband internet subscribers at the end of each month starting from Dec-17 until Dec-18.
Airtel loses broadband internet subscribers.
The top five broadband internet service providers across all segments constituted
98.57 percent marketshare of the total broadbandsubscribers at the end of Dec18. These service providers wereReliance JioInfocomm Ltd 28,01.2 lakh (280.12 million or 28.012 crore), Vodafone Idea 1,079.2 lakh (107.92 million or 10.792 crore), Bharti Airtel 1,002.6 lakh (100.26 million or 10.026 crore), BSNL 205.5 lakh (20.55million or 2.055 crore) and Tata Tele. Group 22,6 lakh (2.26 million or 0.226 crore).
Wireless broadband internet subscribers (mobiles and dongles)
Bharti Airtel Limited lost 45 lakh (4.5 million or 0.45 crore) wireless broadband internet subscribers in the month of Dec-18. The company’s wireless broadband internet subscriber base fell to 979.9 lakh (97.99 million or 9.799 crore) at the end of Dec-18 from 1,024.9 lakh (102.49 million or 10.259 crore) at the end of Nov-18.
As on 31 December, 2018, the top five wireless broadband service providers were Reliance JioInfocomm Ltd 2801.2 lakh (280.12 million or 28.012 crore), Vodafone Idea 1079 lakh (107.90 million or 10.79 crore), Bharti Airtel 979.9 lakh (97.99 million or 9.799 crore), BSNL 113.8 (11.38 million or 1.138 crore) and Tata Teleservices 17.9 lakh (1.79 million or 0.179n crore).
Wired broadband internet subscribers
The combined total number of broadband subscribers of the top 5 wired broadband internet service providers fell by about 60,000 in 2018, hence their market share among the wired broadband internet services providers has declined. The biggest losers were the public sector BSNL and MTNL, which lost 23 lakh (2.3 million or 0.23 crore) and 13 lakh (1.3 million or 0.13 crore) subscribers respectively in CY 2018. Their subscriber bases at the end of 2018 were 91.7 lakh and 7.8 lakh respectively. Airtel added 1.2 lakh (0.12 million or 0.012 crore) subscribers in the year, while Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) added 1.1 lakh (0.11 million or 0.011 crore) subscribers. The fifth wired broadband internet services among the top 5 –Hathway Cable & Datacom (Hathway) added 50,000 subscribers in CY 2018.
As on 31 December, 2018, the top five Wired Broadband Service providers were BSNL 91.7 lakh (9.17 million or 0.917 crore), Bharti Airtel 22.7 lakh (2.27 million or 0.227 crore), ACT 13.9 lakh (1.39 million or 0.139 crore), MTNL 7.8 lakh (0.78 million or 0.078 crore) and Hathway7.8 lakh (0.78 million or 0.078 crore).
Broadband
Tejas Networks names Arnob Roy as MD and CEO, overhauls top leadership team
The Bengaluru-based telecom gear maker reshuffles its entire top team even as quarterly revenue collapses by 83 per cent
BENGALURU: Tejas Networks is changing the guard at the top, and doing so at speed. The Bengaluru-headquartered telecom equipment maker has elevated Arnob Roy as managing director and chief executive officer, effective April 15, 2026, for a term running through to August 3, 2028, and in the same breath announced new appointments across operations and finance. The timing is pointed: the company is navigating one of the roughest patches in its recent history.
Roy steps up from his role as executive director and chief operating officer, a position he has held since March 2019. He brings more than three decades of experience in the high-technology sector across research and development, operations, and sales. His predecessor, Anand Athreya, resigned last year citing personal reasons and was relieved on June 20, 2025, leaving a gap at the top that has now been formally filled.
The numbers Roy inherits are sobering. Tejas posted a net loss of Rs 211.3 crore in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026, a near-194 per cent widening year on year from Rs 71.8 crore in the same period a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter collapsed 82.6 per cent year on year to Rs 333 crore, down from Rs 1,907 crore. EBITDA swung to a loss of Rs 118.2 crore against a profit of Rs 121.5 crore a year ago. The culprit is not hard to identify: Tejas has derived the bulk of its revenue from BSNL’s fourth-generation network project, delivered as part of a Tata Consultancy Services-driven consortium, and that roll-out is now winding down.
Roy, speaking during a post-earnings conference call with analysts, was candid about where the company has been. “The BSNL 4G network went live across 100,000 sites. We deployed our largest indigenous router networks in the country through the BSNL MAN network, as well as in the BharatNet Phase 3 network,” he said, adding that Tejas had also successfully rolled out its 400G and 800G DWDM equipment in domestic and international markets, and continued the deployment of what it describes as the world’s largest satellite IoT network through its vehicle tracking system solution.
The pivot to new revenue streams is already under way. Tejas has partnered with Japan’s Rakuten Symphony and NEC Corporation to push deeper into international markets, with several Open Radio Access Network trials ongoing, one of which concluded recently. The company is also diversifying across equipment categories and geographies to sustain momentum as the BSNL chapter closes.
To prosecute that strategy, Roy needs a full team around him. Preetham Uthaiah has been appointed chief operating officer, moving up from his current role as vice president of product management for wireless products at Tejas Networks. Uthaiah brings nearly 30 years of global experience spanning engineering, product management, and business development across India and the United States. Before joining Tejas Networks, he served as executive vice president of product management, marketing, and strategy at Saankhya Labs, and held senior roles at Tech Mahindra on both sides of the Atlantic. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a degree in electronics and communications from Karnatak University.
On the finance front, AVS Prasad has been approved as chief financial officer, effective May 16, 2026, succeeding Sumit Dhingra, who has resigned. Prasad, currently serving as finance controller at Tejas Networks, brings over 27 years of experience within the Tata Group across telecom, aerostructures, and defence. A company secretary and cost and management accountant by training, he has spent more than 15 years in senior finance roles including CFO and financial controller positions, with expertise spanning corporate finance, treasury management, regulatory compliance, internal audit, and governance.
New chief executive, new chief operating officer, new chief financial officer — all installed in a single move, at a moment when the company’s largest revenue source is drying up and the next chapter remains unwritten. Tejas Networks has placed its bets. Now it has to deliver.
